Investigating the Νeedsof Families of Children with Special Needs

Abstract

Introduction: The family is the first environment in which the child lives, acts and evolves. Roles within the family of a child with special needs are defined when the form of disability is realized, either through the observation of his daily difficulties or with official diagnosis. Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate and assess the way in which the needs of the family which is affected by the disability of its child, affect the family atmosphere. Material and Method: The research is descriptive and the quantitative method is used. The research tool used in this current research is the questionnaire. The sample selected concerned one hundred and twenty parents (N=120) of children with disabilities in the Perfecture of Imathia, which study in the year 2017–2018 in special schools. The distribution and collection of the questionnaires lasted from December 2017 till January 2018. For the statistical analysis, the statistical package called Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSSv. 22.0) for Windows was used. The questionnaire includes the demographic characteristics of the respondents, children's items and the family needs’ scale "Family Needs Survey". Results: The majority of parents are married (86.7%), while sixty participants are women (50%) and the other sixty are men (50%). The boys with disability are 63.3% of the sample and the girls 36.7%. High percentage of disability (80–99%) had 25% of children while their main disabilities were mental retardation (70%) and autism (26.6%). The most important need of these families is to find a suitable school for their child (74.7%) while the second more important need is to find a doctor or a dentist who can understand their needs (70%). At the same time, the findings of this study showed that there is a negative significant correlation between the annual family income and the need for financial assistance (p<0.001). Additionally, there is a negative significant correlation between the annual family income and the individual needs of the respondents (p<0.001) and the need to find appropriate services for their child (p=0.001). There is also a negative correlation between the age of the respondents and the need for more information (p<0.05). Conclusions: The main conclusion of the survey is that the most important needs of the family lie in finding information about how the children may be helped and how to cope with the economic and developmental needs of their children.